Healthy Masculinities conference at OSU

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A conference on Healthy Masculinities will take place May 1-2 at Oregon State University in the Memorial Union. This year’s theme is “Genuine Masculinities: What is it to you?”

The two-day event includes panel discussion from university leaders, presentations by students, faculty and staff, and a free lunch on Friday for registered participants, where discussion will focus on how to translate conference findings into actionable items.

This year’s keynote speaker is Gabe Wright, a male rape survivor and creator of “The Guys Project: Bonding as Survivors and Allies.” His focus is on breaking down the social stigma of victimization by creating spaces for male survivors and their allies to overcome perceived threats to masculinity while at the same time, engaging men as allies to ending violence against women.

“I am thrilled for this year’s conference because I believe there is value in thinking critically about who I want to be as a man,” said organizer Tyler Reisnaur. “It is important to involve everyone in this discussion as we all are impacted and contribute to the social construction of masculinity.”

The conference is sponsored by Men’s Development and Engagement, an OSU group focused on encouraging OSU men to engage in a process of healthy gender identity development with the hope of creating a safe environment. It is open to the entire campus community and is part of the OSU Healthy Campus Initiative.

About Oregon State University: OSU is one of only two U.S. universities designated a land-, sea-, space- and sun-grant institution. OSU is also Oregon’s only university to hold both the Carnegie Foundation’s top designation for research institutions and its prestigious Community Engagement classification. Its more than 26,000 students come from all 50 states and more than 90 nations. OSU programs touch every county within Oregon, and its faculty teach and conduct research on issues of national and global importance.